I have had a life-long love affair with dollhouse miniatures, and careers in art education and interior design. I hope to combine these life experiences to help other miniature enthusiasts get more out of this wonderful hobby we enjoy, a hobby that often reaches the level of an art form. Susan Downing
The Large Dollhouse is a replica of the 1847 Greek Revival home owned by New Jersey State Senator George H. Large. It is located at 117 Main Street in Flemington, N.J. His granddaughter, Josephine Large Talbott, commissioned John and Linda Kubish of Goliath Miniatures to build it.
Categories: dollhouses, Greek Revival
Robert Heard and his dolls houses
Following is the text from The Creative Process page of Robert Heard’s website. Click on either Bough House photograph for more great pictures of Bough Houses.
“Once I start creating, I do not know where the structure will end.”
Categories: artisans, dollhouses
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The Spanish Mansion Dollhouse, French doors open.
The Spanish Mansion dollhouse was made in the late 19th century. It is 4 1/2 feet tall and features a facade with 12 French doors that open to reveal three stories of elaborately furnished rooms. They including a nursery, gentleman’s study, lady’s sitting room, and private chapel — a status symbol for wealthy Spanish families. Carolyn Netter Sunstein added the Spanish Mansion dollhouse to her collection in 1983, paying $20,000.
Categories: amazing miniatures, Great Dollhouses
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The fainting couch was designed primarily for women who were feeling … well, a bit faint! An off-shoot of the chaise lounge, it not only had a raised back at one end but that back wrapped around one side, giving the 19th-century lady with a touch of the vapors a safe place to land. Gracefully.
There are 2 theories as to the purpose of the fainting couch. The most popular: women were actually fainting because their corsets were too tight, restricting blood flow. However, pictures from the 1860s show women horseback riding, playing tennis, and engaging in other vigorous activities in corsets, without hindrance.
The other, perhaps more interesting theory, relates to the treatment of female hysteria. Access to both sides of the couch facilitated manual pelvic massage by home visiting doctors and midwives. As a “disease” that needed recurring in-home treatment which could often take hours, creating specialized furniture for maximum comfort seems likely. Hmmm.
As a piece of furniture for the wealthy, the fainting couch would have been made of expensive wood – walnut or rosewood – with a stuffed, upholstered body. Most often, the fainting couch would be in the bedchamber. Fainting rooms became popular for additional privacy. This doesn’t explain the occasional fainting room with multiple couches.
Since the Victorians were fond of revisiting historical styles — think Greek, Egyptian and Gothic Revivals — the adaptation of those early chaise-looking pieces of furniture to the current use fits right in. While the Victorians coined the term “fainting couches,” they were not the first era in England to make use of it. There are many examples of antique couches and daybeds―most upholstered or caned―from the 1600s forward, proving that this item of furniture was not a Victorian invention.
Akameru Kawaii has an excellent tutorial on making a fainting couch from polymer clay, the result shown in the top photo. Click here for links to Google Images of dollhouse fainting couches in websites and blogs.
Susan Downing, with Patrick Owens
Categories: recycled
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